Traditional hearse
Our hearse carries your loved one on their final journey, with room for floral tributes alongside the coffin. Included in the simple funeral and the traditional or modern funeral packages.
Included in your package
Funeral vehicles
Hearses, limousines and horse-drawn carriages
The vehicles set the tone of the day. Ours are immaculately kept, driven at a respectful pace, and matched to the kind of farewell your family wants.
The final journey
Every vehicle prepared personally, every time
Long before the day itself, Josh will have washed, polished and checked the cars. It is a small thing, but it is the sort of detail a family business notices and a large chain often does not.
Our fleet covers everything from a traditional hearse and matching limousine through to a horse-drawn carriage for a full traditional procession, and a discreet private ambulance for transfers and our direct cremation service. Whatever you choose, the driver and bearers are our own people, in full dress, and they will know the route and the timings before they set off.
If there is a particular route you would like the cortege to take, past a family home, a favourite spot or a place of work, please say so. It is one of the most common requests we are asked for and one of the easiest to arrange. Vehicle choices are set out in your written estimate before you commit to anything, alongside our funeral packages and costs.
Our fleet
Choosing the right vehicles for the day
Accompanying limousine
A matching limousine seating up to six or seven mourners, so the closest family can travel together rather than following in separate cars. One limousine is included in the traditional or modern funeral package.
Additional vehicles £350 each
Horse-drawn carriage
A pair or team of black or white horses drawing a glass-sided Victorian carriage. A striking, traditional choice that slows the procession and gives a funeral real presence on the street.
From £1,150
Hearsette and private ambulance
Used for our direct cremation service and for private transfers into our care. Discreet, respectful and unmarked, carrying your loved one with exactly the same dignity as any other vehicle in our fleet.
Included in direct cremation
Bearers and personnel
The people walking alongside
A full bearer service is included in our simple funeral and traditional or modern funeral packages. Our bearers walk ahead of the hearse at the start of the procession where the venue allows it, carry the coffin into the chapel or graveside, and are there throughout to guide mourners quietly.
If members of the family would like to carry the coffin themselves, that is very welcome, and our team will support you through it. We will talk you through the practicalities beforehand so nobody is caught out on the day.
Distances and timings
Collection from the place of death is normally within 15 miles of our premises, and the journey to the cemetery or crematorium is normally within 20 miles. Beyond that, additional mileage is charged at £1.50 per mile and additional transfers of your loved one, for example to their home or a place of worship, are £225 per transfer. Out of hours collections in the evening, at the weekend or on a bank holiday are £275.
Common questions
Funeral vehicles, answered
- How many limousines will we need?
- Most families take one limousine, which seats up to six or seven mourners and is included in our traditional or modern funeral package. If the immediate family is larger, additional limousines are £350 per vehicle. We will talk the numbers through with you at the arrangement meeting so nobody is left without a seat.
- Can the cortege pass a particular place on the way?
- Yes. A route past a family home, a favourite pub, a workplace or a sports ground is one of the most common personal touches families ask for, and it costs nothing to arrange. Just tell us where, and we will plan the timings around it. Additional mileage beyond the standard distance is charged at £1.50 per mile.
- Do you offer horse-drawn funerals?
- We do. A pair or team of black or white horses drawing a traditional glass carriage starts from £1,150. It needs a little more notice than a motor hearse and the route has to be suitable, so please mention it early in the arrangements and we will check what is possible.
- Can family carry the coffin themselves?
- Yes, and many families find it meaningful to do so. Our bearers will be there to guide you, take the weight at the difficult moments such as steps and doorways, and step in entirely if anyone would rather not continue on the day. There is no pressure either way.
Tell us how you would like the day to look and we will arrange the vehicles around it.
Call 020 3887 2090 to talk it through with a member of the family, at any hour.
Here to help, 24/7
Talk to our family
However small the question, we are here to answer it. Call us any time, or leave your details and we will call you straight back.
- Telephone 020 3887 2090
- Email info@brunskillfunerals.co.uk
- Chessington office 13 North Parade, Chessington, KT9 1QL
- Twickenham office 95 Powdermill Lane, Twickenham, TW2 6EF
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We will reply as quickly as we can.